Combination paperweight and letter opener



March 18, 1969 R, M. KRISTAI. 3,432,926

COMBINATION PAPERWEIGHT AND LETTER OPENER Filed May 25, 1966 /4 #76,3 4 /gf5i 76 6 955? ak/2 L l I i x we@ A f4 INVENTOR.

Zesser A4. KR/s r4.

Afro/av' Kr United States 5 Claims ABSTRACT 9F THE DISCLOSURE A combination paperweight and letter opener wherein the letter opener is composed of a housing block having a removable cover which mutually define a longitudinal guideway open at its ends and at its top. The guideway extends the full length of one side of the block and cover. A blade is spring urged across the guideway to trim the edge of an envelope as it is drawn through the guideway.

This invention relates to a combination paperweight and letter opener.

It is the primary object of my invention to provide a new and improved manually operable hand-powered letter opener which will slit open an edge of an envelope in a quick and efficient manner and which includes a relatively heavy weight and presents a broad flat bottom surface whereby the letter opener may also serve as a convenient paperweight for holding down documents on the desk of a user.

It is an ancillary object of my invention to provide a combination paperweight and letter opener of the character described which carries advertising or other information indicia so that the aforesaid combination will function as a novel and attractive promotional items which, because of its use as a paperweight, will be retained on the desk of the user so as to continually display its advertising or other information indicia.

It is a further object of my invention to provide a letter opener which includes an elongated guideway along which an edge of the envelope is pulled, a cutting element protruding into the slot to trim the edge of envelope, and spring means biasing the cutting element to its trimming position, characterized in that the aforesaid elements are arranged in a unique manner which functions simply and efficiently and which permits utilization of a standard replaceable single edge razor blade as the cutting element.

It is still a further object of my invention to provide a letter opener having relatively few parts, which is simple in construction and permits ease of assemblage, which is constructed from relatively low priced components and which will enable the marketing thereof at a relatively low cost.

These and various other objects and advantages of my invention will become apparent to the reader in the following description.

My invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combinations of elements and arrangements of parts which will be exemplified in the combination paperweight and letter opener hereinafter described and of which the scope of application will be indicated in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings in which is shown one of the various possible embodiments of my invention.

FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of a combination paperweight and letter opener constructed in accordance with the teaching of my invention;

FIG. 2 is a bottom perspective view of said combination paperweight and letter opener and illustrating in dot atent C 3,432,926 Patented Mar. 18, 1969 ECC and dash lines an envelope having an edge thereof being cut open;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the inside face of the cover of the housing block of my device as well as a plan view of the interior of said housing block and the several components therein; and

FIGS. 4, 5, 6 and 7 are transverse cross-sectional views through the combined paperweight and letter opener, the same being taken substantially along the lines 44, 5 5, 6-6 and 7-7 of FIG. 3.

In general, I provide a device constituting a combination paperweight and letter opener which may be hand held and is portable, which is of such a weight that it functions as a paperweight to hold down documents on the desk of a user, and which is hand-powered by the user. The device includes an exposed heavy face plate which optionally carries advertising, information indicia, decorative matter or display material thereon. The face plate is held by positioning means on the top of a lightweight housing block of the device, preferably by being situated in a recess in said top.

The letter opening assembly is contained within the same lightweight housing block and includes an elongated linear guideway along which an edge of an envelope to be opened is pulled by the user. A cutting element in the 'form of a standard single edge injection-type razor blade is pivotally mounted within the housing block and has one end corner of the cutting edge thereof protruding transversely into the guideway above the bottom of the latter. A leaf spring in the housing block biases the razor on its pivot toward a position bridging the guideway and bearing against the distant wall thereof. Except for said end corner, the cutting element is concealed within the lightweight block.

When an envelope is to be cut open, an edge thereof is drawn along the guideway past and under the cutting element, which thereupon, so -urged by t-he spring, cuts the envelope edge open, permitting the contents of the envelope to be removed.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, reference numeral 10 denotes a device which is a combination letter opener and paperweight, the same being constructed in accordance with the teaching of my invention. Said device includes a lightweight housing block 12 which is generally oblong in plan and which includes a pair of elongated parallel side walls, respectively 14, 16, and a pair of relatively shorter parallel end walls 18, 20. The housing is formed from any rigid and rugged lightweight material such as wood or molded pulp but preferably is composed of a synthetic resin, eg., polystyrene.

The housing block has a flat, oblong floor 22 extending between the aforesaid side and end walls. In crosssection, the block has an H configuration, see FIGS. 4, 5 and 6, of which the cross-bar is said floor 22. A peripheral ange 24 of uniform height, extending at right angles to the plane of the oor 22 and continuous around said floor defines a shallow recess 26 on the outer face of the floor 22.

A face plate 28, oblong in plan and cross-section, fits into and substantially fills the recess 26, the sides of the plate mating with the interior surface of t-he flange 24 and the plate having an exposed surface 30 which is approximately coplanar with or optionally depressed below the top edge of the flange 24.

On the plate may be printed, impressed, or otherwise carried, advertising matter such as at 32, information indicia such for example as a calender, decorative matter, such as a bas-relief of an arrangement of leaves, a company logo or a representation of an article to be advertised. Desirably, the face plate 28 is formed from a relatively -heavy metal such as a zinc die-cast alloy to give the device 10 its desired weight despite the light weight of the body. The plate may be fastened in the recess in any conventional manner such as by an adhesive.

The device has an irregular internal shallow cavity 34- on the other side of the floor 22 which is bounded by a flange 38 of uniform height, which extends at right angles to the iloor 22 and which, with the exception of one interruption, is continuous around said floor. The cavity is closed by another plate constituting a flat lightweight cover 36. Said cover, in conjunction with the housing yblock 12, serves to hold others of the components of my device in their proper location within the cavity 34. The cover contacts the housing block along the flange 38, the ange abutting the border of the cover.

The cover 36 is removably secured to the housing 12 as by a pair of self-tapping screws 40 having enlarged conical heads. The cover has formed therein a pair of countersunk bores 42 to receive the screw heads, the taper of said bores matching the taper of the screw heads and permitting said screw heads, when the screws are tightened, to be countersunk below the outer llat surface of said cover. The shanks of the screws 40 are received in a pair of wells 44 located within the cavity 34. The tops of the wells terminate in the same plane as the top of the flange 38 so that the cover bears against both the tops of the wells and the flange 38. The self-tapping feature of the screws 40 and the countersunk construction of the bores 42 permit ease of assembly of the cover to the housing 12, and yet permits the outer flat face of the cover 36 to be without obstruction which might otherwise tear up, scratch or mar documents upon which the device 10 rests. The said cover is readily separated from the block by counter-rotating the screws 40, this being done to gain access to the interior of the housing block.

The previously mentioned cavity 34 is defined on its bottom by 4a surface 46 of the floor 22 of the housing block 12, by a ceiling 48 on the cover 36 and on its sides by the inside face of the flange 38. To insure that the cover 36 lmay be easily and correctly aligned over the floor 46 and against the flange 38, the ceiling 48 has formed therein, inwardly of its boundary, a number of projecting linear guides 50. The guides 50 run parallel to the edges of the cover, and are in positions such that when the cover is assembled over the housing block, the guides will t snugly within the flange 38 and consequently align the cover `with respect to the block housing. The guides are interrupted and spaced, as: appropriate, so that they do not interfere with structure within the block. The aforesaid guides 50 and their positions relative to the ange 38 are best seen in FIGS. 5 and 6. It will be appreciated that the provision of the foregoing guides in r their described positions facilitates the quick assembly of my combination letter opener land paperweight.

The housing block 12 further has formed therein an elongated linear guideway 52 running along wall 16 and the length of one lone side of the device 10. An envelope E to be opened Will be drawn or slid along said guideway. The guideway is open on its ends and open on the side which is in the same plane as the cover 36. The guideway is defined on one side by an upper portion of the wall 16, this being the side which the side Es of an envelope will ycontact as it is drawn along the guideway, and the guideway is dened on the other side in part lby an elongated segment 38a of the flange 38, said segment 38a being substantially parallel to the wall 16, and in part by the coplanar side edge 36a of the cover plate 36. This latter side is parallel to the first mentioned side. The guideway has a base 52a along which the edge Ee of the envelope will be drawn.

One end of the guideway 52 is flared open to form an entrance mouth 54, Asaid mouth being defined in part by a. small portion 38b of the flange 38 and by an adjacent end portion 16a of the Wall 16. The mouth 54 facilitates the admittance of the leading edge of the envelope E into the guideway.

A razor blade 56 of the injector type which is elon- CFI gated and thin, and has a single elongated linear sharp cutting edge 58, constitutes the cutting member of my device 10. The aforesaid razor blade is conventional and may be purchased as a standard item at retail stores, so that when necessary due to the dulling of a blade in my device, a new blade may be readily purchased and 4substituted. The blade is flat and of uniform thickness, except where it thins to a sharp cutting edge, and said blade is generally parallel to the broad plane of the cover 36, i.e., horizontal when the device is at rest on a desk. The blade has a blunt back edge.

The blade 56 conventionally includes a pair of spaced noles 60, 62 which are separated by an elongated slot 64. The holes are symmetrically located with respect to the transverse center of the blade.

Pivot means is provided for the razor blade 56. To this end, the floor 46 of the housing includes an integral raised plateau 66 which has a flat top parallel to the floor 46. The plateau is narrow, being only slightly wider than the blade (see FIG. 3) but is tapered at its end proximate the guideway so that the Iblunt edge of the blade overlaps the plateau at this end. The plateau 66 has a long edge 68 which is substantially parallel to the cutting edge 58 of the razor blade 56. A pivot pin 70 in one piece with the housing block 12 rises from the central portion of the plateau 66, is of circular Vcross-section, and has a diameter slightly less, e.g., two thousandths of an inch, than the diameter of the holes 60, 62 in the razor blade 56. The pin passes through the hole 60, 62, further from the segment 38a and the razor blade rotatably rests on the plateau swinging about the pivot pin.

The ceiling 48 of the plate 36 carries a narrow projecting table 72 which is superimposed over the razor blade when the cover plate is joined to the housing 12. The exposed face of the table is flat and parallel to the floor 46. The table is narrower than the plateau and is so situated that the blunt edge of the blade overhangs the adjacent edge of the table. Thereby the blunt edge of the blade adjacent to the segment 38a is exposed in the cavity 34. rl`he table 72 has an aperture 74 formed therein which receives the tip of the pivot -pin 76. The table 72 while extending toward the razor blade 56 terminates slightly short of it, e.g., two thousandths of an inch, so that the razor blade is free to swing about the pin without friction being imposed by the facing surfaces of the plateau 66 and the table 72. It will be appreciated that since the pivot 4pin 70 is integral with the housing 12, the usual pivot screws are unnecessary, resulting in ease of assembly yand a lessening of friction. Also since the tip of the pivot pin is contained in the aperture 74, the blade is prevented from locking.

The cutting edge 58 of the razor blade 56 makes an acute angle a with the slot 52, facing the mouth 54 and -one corner 56a of the razor blade projects into the slot with a portion of the cutting edge 58 facing the mouth 54 of the slot. The flange segment 38a is interrupted to permit passage of the razor blade end into the slot. The corner 56a projects into the slot 52 at a level above the base 52a of the slot (see FIG. 5) and bears against the wall 16 so that when an envelope E is drawn along the slot, it will be slit immediately adjacent to its edge but slightly spaced therefrom.

-Biasing means is provided to urge the corner 56a of the razor blade l56 into the guideway. Said biasing means swings the blade so that the cutting edge 58 bears against the face of the wall 16 which defines the distant side of the slot. It will be evident that the spring bias is provided so that when an envelope E is pulled along the slots 52, the razor blade will resiliently jog toward the cavity 34 to a suicient extent to permit passage of the envelope while the biasing means also forces the cutting edge of the razor blade into the envelope so that a slitting action takes place.

The mentioned biasing means comprises a contoured leaf spring 76. The spring includes an end portion 78 which extends into and is held by an open-ended slot 80 formed in a boss rising from the oor 46, an elongated body portion `82 which extends at right angles to the end and approximately parallel to and behind the blunt edge of the blade 78, an elongated offset portion 84 which slopes from the body portion 82 toward the blunt edge of the razor blade 56 and a retroverted foot 86- which is in contact with the blunt edge of the razor blade behind the corner 56a and forward of the pivot pin 70` where the blade projects from between the plateau and the table. A xed stop 88 rises from the floor 46 and in conjunction with the slot 80 properly positions the spring 76 and serves to locate the olfset portion 84 so that the foot urges the razor blade to its cutting position. The spring is in eifect cantilevered at the stop 88 which acts as a reaction point for pressing the foot against the blade.

The ceiling 48 as well as the floor 22 locate the spring 76 (see FIGS. 4, 5 and 6) so that it contacts the back edge of the razor blade at a point midway between the upper and lower edges of the foot 86. This position of the spring with respect to the razor blade insures that the razor blade will not jam between the spring and the ceiling or between the spring and the floor. The width of the spring is a few, e.g., iive thousandths of an inch narrower than the height of the cavity so as to allow the spring to ex freely.

When the cutting edge 58 of the razor blade 56 becomes dull, a new portion of the cutting edge may be exposed by simply removing the cover plate 36 and reversing the razor blade so that a different hole receives the piot pin 70. Further, since a standard razor blade is used and both ends of the cutting edge are dull, a user may quickly and easily replace the razor blade by a new one.

In use, as has been mentioned previously, the paperweight may serve to hold down documents on the desk of a user. At this time, the exposed face of the cover 36 is placed in contact with the documents so that the face plate 28 is exposed, also exposing the advertising, information or decorative material carried thereon.

When it is desired to use the device as a letter opener, an envelope is introduced into the mouth 54 and an edge drawn along the guideway 52. As this is done, the spring 84 will urge the cutting edge of the razor blade into it so as to slit the envelope adjacent said edge.

I also provide a niche 90 within housing block 12 which is oblong in plan and relatively shallow to receive one or a few razor blades 56 (see FIG. 7). The niche temporarily stores the blades until the user of the letter opener desires to replace the razor blade 56 in operative position with a fresh blade. The niche is located in one corner of the housing block and is overlain by and thus closed by the cover 36. The niche has a floor 92 which the razor blade rests on and an elongated central groove 94 which, when a razor blade `56' is in its storage position within the niche, is in alignment with the slot 64 within the blade. The groove permits the point of a slender instrument to be inserted through the slot 64 in the razor blade and below the surface of the blade so that one or more blades can be lifted out of the niche 90. It will be appreciated that this arrangement is quite convenient since, due to its thinness, a razor blade is often quite diiicult to grasp and due to its sharp edge is dangerous to grasp. The provision of the groove in a niche in combination with the slot in the blade permits the removal of the blade by a pen or a pencil safely, quickly and easily.

It thus will be seen that I have provided a combination paperweight and letter opener which achieves the several objects of my invention and which is well adapted to meet the conditions of practical use. Since various practical embodiments might be made of my invention and various changes might be made in the embodiment above set forth, it is to be understood that all matter herein described or shown in the accompanying drawings is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

I claim:

1. A letter opener including:

(a) a housing block;

(b) a longitudinal guideway having open ends, an open side and a base side, formed in the housing block and extending the length of the side of the block;

(c) a cover;

(d) means removably attaching the cover to the block with one edge of the cover forming an upper portion of a side of the guideway;

(e) an internal cavity defined by the cover and the block, a portion of said cavity being in communication with the guideway between the open side and the base side of the guideway;

(f) a thin razor blade of uniform thickness having a blunt back edge and an opposed elongated cutting edge and concealed in the cavity;

(g) a pivot means within the cavity removably mounting the razor blade for swinging movement from a position in which the entire blade is contained within the cavity, to a cutting position wherein a corner of the blade protrudes out of the cavity and abuts an opposed sidewall of the guideway and presents a portion of its cutting edge thereto;

(h) the block having a flat surface protruding into the cavity and the cover having a tlat surface protruding into the cavity, the said surfaces thereby being disposed within the cavity, said surfaces being parallel, superimposed and being spaced apart a distance within the cavity slightly greater than the width of the blade so that the blade is swingable parallel to itself about the pivot means, the razor blade being situated flatly between and swinging on said surfaces, said surfaces lying in planes intersecting the guideway between its open side and its base side and spaced from both said sides; and

(i) biasing means located within the cavity and resiliently urging the razor blade to its cutting position.

2. A letter opener as set forth in claim 1 wherein the biasing means comprises a leaf spring located within the cavity and held in position by the cover, said spring contacting the blunt back edge of the blade and having at its contact zone a width substantially greater than the thickness of the blade, said spring being abutted by the back edge of the blade between the lateral edges of the spring.

3. A letter opener as set forth in claim 2 further including means located within the cavity holding the spring so that its width is perpendicular to the blade and so that said contact zone is substantially midway between the side edges of the spring.

4. A letter opener including:

(a) a housing block;

(b) a longitudinal guideway having open ends, an open side and a base side, formed in the housing block and extending the length of a side of the block;

(c) cover;

(d) means removably attaching the cover to the block;

(e) an internal cavity defined by the cover and the block and in communication with the guideway;

(f) a thin razor blade of uniform thickness having a blunt back edge and an opposed elongated cutting edge and concealed in the'cavity;

(g) pivot means within the cavity removably mounting the razor blade for swinging movement to a cutting position wherein a corner of the blade protrudes out of the cavity across and abuts an opposed side wall of the guideway and presents a portion of its cutting edge thereto;

(h) the block having a flat surface and the cover having a flat surface, said surfaces being parallel, superimposed and being spaced apart a distance slightly greater than the width of the blade, the razor blade being situated flatly between and swinging on said surfaces, said surfaces lying in planes intersecting the guideway between its open side and its base side;

(i) biasing means located within the cavity resiliently urging the razor blade to its cutting position, the biasing means comprising a leaf spring located within the cavity, said spring contacting the back edge of the blade and having at its contact zone a width substantially greater than the thickness of the blade; and

(j) means located within the cavity holding the spring so that its width is perpendicular to the blade and so that said contact zone is substantially midway between the side edges of the spring, the holding means including a slot formed in the cavity and an upstanding pin in the cavity, the leaf spring being elongated and including an end engaged inthe slot and a foot at the other end of the spring in contact with the back -edge of the blade, the pin abutting a mid-portion of the spring and urging the foot toward the blade.

5. A letter opener as set forth in claim 1 wherein the pivot means constitutes a shaft of circular cross-section formed in one piece with the ilat surface of the block and received in a bore in the at surface of the cover, the blade having a circular aperture therein of a diameter greater than the diameter of the shaft, the shaft passing through the aperture.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 12/ 1924 Nighbert.

3/1941 Teigen 30-294 10/1948 Gould 225--47 X 12/ 1962 Campbell 30-294 9/ 1963 Haldeman et al. 30-294 1/1964 Adams 30-294 10/1964 Lipton 83--912 X U.S. Cl. X.R. 

